![]() Queens - fertile females which begin the colonies and lay eggs. Like other social wasps, bald-faced hornets have a caste system made up of the following: When spring arrives the young queens emerge, and the cycle begins again.īald-faced hornets visit flowers, especially in late summer, and can be minor pollinators. The nest is generally abandoned by winter, and will most likely not be reused. As winter approaches, the wasps die, except for young fertilized queens which hibernate underground or in hollow trees. This continues through summer and into fall. The workers also guard the nest and collect nectar and arthropods to feed the larvae. The workers expand the nest by chewing up wood that mixes with a starch in their saliva, which they spread with their mandibles and legs to dry into paper. Like the median wasp Dolichovespula media in Europe, bald-faced hornets are extremely protective of their nests and will sting repeatedly if disturbed.Įvery year young queens that were born and fertilized the previous year start a new colony and raise their young. These nests can sometimes reach 3 feet tall. They are best known for their large football-shaped paper nest, which they build in the spring for raising their young. They are most common in the southeastern United States. The bald-faced hornet lives throughout North America, including southern Canada, the Rocky Mountains, the western coast of the United States, and most of the eastern US. It belongs to a genus of wasps called yellowjackets in North America, and is more distantly related to true hornets like the Asian giant hornet or European hornet, but the term "hornet" is often used colloquially to refer to any vespine with an exposed aerial nest. Hornet nest in our large Ash tree last summerĭolichovespula maculata is a North American insect which, despite commonly being called the bald-faced hornet (or white-faced hornet), is not a true hornet. ![]() ![]() I haven’t been afraid of them because they always fly away from me and are very concentrated on the blossoms. We get a bunch of them every summer on our large Swamp Milkweed as shown in photo. Is this a Bald Faced Hornet? I sure think they are fancy. Large, beautiful and scary nest found in the corner of our garage door. It is attached to the underside of the gutter on the house - I can watch them work from the upstairs window! I would like to find someone to claim the nest this fall, since it is quite beautiful!įirst time in my 20+ years here that I’ve seen these. Have seen them mostly at dark by the door light. I found the nest after researching a dead hornet by the door light at night. I have never seen this hornet around the area before. In this photo, a hornet is sitting just inside the entrance I was out today at Barnes Prairie, and got a few pictures of this handsome aerial yellowjacket.ĭolichovespula maculata, bald-faced hornet, on rigid goldenrod Oligoneuron rigidum, formerly known as Solidago rigida, Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI October 11, 2022. Simply email us at one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.ĭolichovespula maculata bald-faced hornet Vespidae (hornets, paper wasps, potter wasps, and allies) Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies)Īpocrita (narrow-waisted wasps, ants, and bees)Īculeata (ants, bees, and stinging wasps) In a tree, but may be in a bush or other protected place.įlower nectar, fruit, and possibly other insects The nest is made of a gray-tan wood pulp and is in the shape of an inverted tear drop with an opening near the bottom. Black with white markings on the head, the thorax, the last few segments of the abdomen, and first antennal segment.
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